Insulated fastener for electric fences



Dec. 23, 1958 Q s l 2,855,609

INSULATED FASTENER FOR ELECTRIC FENCES Filed Sept. 26, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Theodore O. Steiner h hm-fzm ATTORNEYS Dec. 23,1958 l. o. STEINER 2,355,609

INSULATED FASTENER FOR ELECTRIC FENCES Filed Sept. 26, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 III/I/III/l/I/Il/l/ l/I/II '11,: I, I X I INVENTOR n P ,9T1 7. 13 Theodore O. Stelner United States Patent INSULATED FASTENER FDRELECTRIC FENCES Theodore 0. Steiner, Akron, Ohio Application September26, 1956, Serial No. 612,128

' 14 Claims. c1. 256-) This invention relates to insulated fasteners forconnecting wires to fence posts of round, square or rectangular crosssection and more particularly to a simple fastening device for electricfencing which may easily be attached to a fence post and which providesan insulated loop for receiving the fence wire.

The common insulator for electric fencing consists of a number ofseparate parts, including a spool porcelain insulator, a wire springclamp to hold the fence wire to the porcelain spool, a leather orcomposition washer, and a screw clamp which extends through the spoolinsulator and around the fence post and is fastened thereto bytightening the screw. In place of the screw clamp, a long cotter pin isusually substituted where the spool insulator is to be fastened to postsof T-shaped or halfsquare cross section. While the aforementionedassemblies serve their purpose fairly well, they are clumsy to installand are easily broken (especially if tightened excessively or if droppedon a hard surface), and often times the screw clamp loosens and theinsulator turns and shorts the fence wire thereby rendering the fenceuseless.

According to the present invention, a combination insulator .and wiresupport is provided from a single piece of wire formed to provide arigid attaching portion and a rigid wire-supporting portion. Theattaching portion is adapted for rigid attachment to a fence post andthe wire-supporting portion is bent to provide a wire-receiving loopwhich is covered with insulating material so that the electric wire ofthe fence retained in said loop cannot conduct electricity to the fencepost. The attaching portion is preferably formed by bending the wire,for example so that the device may be easily stapled to a wooden post ormay be easily connected to a Y-shaped metal post by the conventionalshort wires normallyused to connect barbed wire to such metal posts.

In the preferred insulated electric wire support of the presentinvention, the attaching portion is bent to form an elongated loophaving a length at least about twice its width, which loop is bent backupon itself to provide two, vertically spaced, superposed,post-receiving channels opening in the same direction and two, laterallyspaced, aligned, key-receiving channels opening in the same horizontaldirection. The wire of the attaching portion is preferably bent toprovide one substantially semicircular bend located in one plane and twosubstantially semicircular bends located in spaced, generally parallelplanes perpendicular to the first-mentioned plane, so that the fastenerwill fit on a post in the form of a round bar and so that the lockingkey may be formed from a round wire or bar. The end of the wire formingthe attaching portion is preferably interlocked with another portion ofthe wire so as to form a strong rigid construction.

The fastening device of the present invention is rigidly mounted on ametal fence post by placing the attaching portion on the post so thatthe post is within the two superposed channels described above, andthereafter plac 2,865,609 Patented Dec. 23, 1958 ing a key of oblongcross section against the post and within the key-receiving channelsdescribed above. The larger cross sectional dimension of the key isgreater than the space between the post and the wire of said attachingportion so that the key bites into the post when it is rotated to aposition wherein the maximum cross sectional dimension of the key ishorizontal and perpendicular to the post.

The present invention provides a way to reduce the cost of electricfencing since Wire supports can be formed from single pieces of wire bymass production processes at very low cost. The wire support of thepresent invention is not only inexpensive to manufacture but alsoprovides one of the highest quality supports for electric Wires. Thewire support is ideal for ranchers and farmers who wish to add electricwires to existing fences and may easily be connected to and disconnectedfrom a fence post.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple inexpensiveinsulator for electric fences which is easily and readily installed andremoved from the fence posts.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insulator for electricfencing which when fastened in place will not turn or slip in anydirection.

A further object of the invention is to provide an insulator andfastening device for electric fences which has a minimum of parts andwhich will last indefinitely.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insulator for electricfences in which the fence wire is easily mounted and securely held.

A still further object of my invention is to provide effective andeconomical means for fastening insulators and other objects to variousshapes of bars and posts.

Other objects, uses and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art from the following description and claimsand from the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view on a reduced scale with parts brokenaway showing a fence post P with the insulated fastener A of the presentinvention attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a top view of the insulated attaching device A of Fig. 1 ona larger scale with the key K shown in dot-dash lines in its positionpreparatory to locking;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view like Fig. 1 but on alarger scale, the key K being shown in dot-dash lines in its positionprior to locking;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the locking keyK of Figs. 1 to 3;

Figure 5 is an end elevational view of the fastening device A of Fig. 3on the same scale with the post omitted showing the key K in lockedposition;

Figure 6 is a top view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified form offastening device A Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevational viewsimilar to Fig. 3 showing the device A of Fig. 6 locked in place on afence post P by means of. a removable L-shaped locking key K which issimilar to the U-shaped key K of Figs. 1 to 5;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the key K of Fig. 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the locking key Ktaken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and on the same scale;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of another modified form of fasteningdevice A according to the present invention;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary front elevational view of 1 another modifiedform of my invention shown mounted on a standard Y-shaped post P withconventional barbed wire attached to the same post;

Figure, 1-2 is a. fragmentary side elevational view of the Y-shaped postP of Fig. 11 on the same scale;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary front elevational view showmg on a reducedscale a typical section of the permanent fencingshown in Figs. 11 and12;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary front elevational view showmg anothermodified form of my invention attached to a Wododen fence post P bymeans of a single common staple; an

Figure 15 is a side elevational view showing another modified form of myinvention which may be mounted on the wooden post P Referring moreparticularly to. the drawings, which are drawn substantially to scale,and in which like parts are identified by the same letters and numeralsthroughout the several views, Fig. 1 shows an improved fence post Pformed of a cold-rolled steel rod of circular cross section having adiameter of 0.3 to 0.6 inch, said rod being bent to provide a straightupper portion 1 having a length of about three to five feet, a straighthorizontal portion 2 with a length of two to four inches for engagingthe ground, and a tapered vertical portion 3 with a length of one or twofeet which is inserted into the ground. The portion 2 may be engagedbythe foot to force the post into the ground at the desired location.The portion 1. has a uniform cross section throughout its height andpreferably has a diameter of 0.3 to 0.6 inch.

Figures 1 to 5 show an insulated fastener A according to the presentinvention, which is formed from a single piece of metal wire or rod,preferably of circular cross section, having a diameter of about 0.1 to0.2 inch and a length of about 6 inches to 1 foot. The rod is bent toprovide an attaching portion a, and an integral wiresupporting portionb, which is insulated. The portion 1: is formed to provide a helicalloop 4 with a diameter of 0.5 to 1.5 inches having a vertical portion 5,a semicircular portion 6, and a generally horizontal portion 7, the loopbeing completely covered with a tube or sleeve of insulation 8 having aradial thickness of .02 to .07 inch. The material used at 3 may berubber or various other non-conducting materials, but is preferably aflexible plas tic which will last for long periods of time. The sleeveof insulation may be formed in situ by dipping the metal loop or thesleeve may be formed separately and slipped over the rod forming theloop; A neoprene tube, for example, would provide excellent insulation.

The insulating material for the wire loop of the fastener of the presentinvention may be made from phenolaldehyde resins and various othernon-conducting plastic materials, but it is preferable to employ linearthermoplastic materials which do not crack readily and Which may becompounded to provide high resistance to deterioration by abrasion, heatand light. The preferred plastic is a polymer or copolymer of vinylchloride which is:- plasticized and which is flexible so that it willnot crack due to slight flexing of the wire forming the fastener. Theplastic may be sulficiently hard so as to resist deformation andabrasion by the electric wire of the fence.

It is preferable to form the insulating sleeve on the metal loop insitu. The insulating layer may be applied easily by dipping the wireloop (preferably while hot) into a suitable plastisol such as one formedof a finely divided polyvinyl chloride suspended as discrete particlesin a plasticizer such as dioctyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate, or thelike, with or without additional thinner. The amount of said plasticizeris preferably just sufficient to form a solid when absorbed by thepolyvinyl chloride. Thejmetal loop should be heated after it is dippedin the pla'stieizer.sufficiently;(usually 300 to 400 F.) to, cause theplasticizer and polyvinyl chloride to combine soas to. provide thedesired plastic sleeve. It is usually more convenient to heat the metalloop before it is dipped so that" it is easier to form a thick plasticcovering (gel) over the metal. Plastisols of various plastics may beused n. d ppin t e m a p The dipping procedure is also effective usingaqueous latex dispersions as will be apparent to those skilled in theart. A rubber latex may be applied readily by dipping to provide arubber sleeve for insulating the loop. Neoprene rubber would bepreferred over most other rubbers. The latex method may be used also toapply plastic insulating sleeves to the metal loop.

It will be apparent that various non-conductive high polymers wouldprovide satisfactory insulation. Excellent results could be obtainedusing plasticized polyvinyl chlorides and other polymers or copolyrnersof vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, or the like with vinyl acetate,acrylonitrile, or the like, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene orother thermoplastic materials. Suitable materials may be added to theplastic to increase its flexibility, abrasion resistance and resistanceto heat and sunlight. A polyvinyl chloride plastic may be pigmented withcarbon black to provide increased resistance to sun-,-

light and maybe compounded to provide the required hardness andflexibility. The preferred material for the insulation is one which maybe applied by dipping and which provides a very smooth, water-repellentsurface so that drops of water will bead as on a highly waxed surface.

The attaching portion a is made by bending the metal rod andinterlocking the rod with itself at 9 to form a,

generally rectangular loop having a length slightly greater than twiceits width, said width being slightlygreater than the diameter of thepost portion 1. Such loop is bent reversely and back upon itselfto forma pair of.

superposed vertically aligned post-receiving channels 10 ofsubstantially the same size, which open in one direcerally semicircularvertical portion 18 laterally aligned with the vertical curved portion il, a straight generally horizontal portion 19 horizontally aligned withthe straight portion 13, a curved generally horizontal portion ,20 substantially in vertical alignment with the horizontalportion 16, and anend hook at 9 having a short vertical portion 21 which engages the sideof the straight-por tion 13 to hold the portions 19 and 20 againstmovement away from the portion 13. The portions 13,to

15 are located on one side of the post and the portions 17 to 19 arelocated on the opposite side of the post, said portions forming the twokey-receiving channels 11 which have the same width and depth. Thestraight portions 15 and 17 and the curved portions loadjoining saidportionsform one of the U-shaped channels 10, and theportions 13, 18 and19 form the other post-receiving chan nel 10. It will be noted that theportions 12 to 21 are numbered in order moving along the Wire of theattaching portion a away from the loop portion b.

Figure 4 shows a key K which is used with the insulated fastener A toconnect the fastener to the post portion 1. The key K is formed from asteel rod preferably of 'cir: cular cross section having a diameter ofabout 0.1 to 0.3 inch and a length of about 2 to 8 inches. As hereinshown the key K is formed from the cold-rolled steel rod of circularcross section having a diameter of 0.1 to 0.3 inch, which isbent into aloop having a straight portion 23;, a curved portion 24, a straightgenerally vertical portion 25, a curved edge portion 26,'and a'straightportion 27 of oblong cross section, which preferably has-a:

length of 0.5 to 2 inches. The portion 27 is reducedin thickness(preferably 20 to 40 percent) by grinding,

milling or other machining operation to form aflat surface 28 on oneside thereof, the remainder of the outer surface of the portion 27 beingof uniform curvature at any cross section.

It will be noted that the bottom portion of each keyreceiving channel 11is semicircular and has an internal diameter only slightly greater thanthe external diameter of the rod forming the key K. As herein shown, theinternal width of each channel 11 is substantially less than theinternal width of each channel 10, the width of the channel beingslightly greater than the diameter of the post at 1. The depth of eachpost-receiving channel 10 is greater than the diameter of the postportion 1 by an amount less than the diameter of the rod forming the keyK and greater than the minimum cross sectional dimension of the straightkey portion 27, whereby the portion 27 fits loosely within the channel11 when it is in the horizontal position shown in dot-dash lines in Fig.3 and bites into the post to hold the fastener A tightly in place whenit is moved to a vertical position against the post as shown in solidlines in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the depth of the channel 10 isgreater than its internal width by an amount less than the internalwidth of each channel 11 and is at least about half said last mentionedwidth.

Figures 2 and 3 indicate how the fastener A may be mounted on the postportion 1. The straight portion 2'7 of the key K is held manuallyagainst the internal surfaces of the curved portions 14 and 18 withinthe channels 11 as shown in dot-dash lines in Figs. 2 and 3, with thefiat surface 28 in a vertical position so that there is sufficient spacebetween the key portion 27 and the bottoms of the channels 10 to receivethe post portion 1. The fastener A is mounted on the post While the keyis held as indicated above and the key is then forced downwardly againstthe post. Since the portion 27 is of oblong cross section it pressesagainst the post when it is rotated and is tightly gripped between thepost and the vertical portions 14 and 18. The force of said lastmentioned portrons on the key forces the side portions of the key intothe post P so as to provide a very tight connection. How ever, thefastener may easily be removed by prying the key away from the post andswinging it to a horizontal position. As herein shown the key K ispermanently mounted on the fastener A since the distance between thestraight portion 27 and the end of the portion 23 is less than thediameter of the metal wire forming the fastener A.

' However, it will be apparent that the portion 23 may be omitted andthat various removable keys may be used, for example as shown in Figs. 8and 9.

Figures 6 and 7 show a modified form of insulated fastener A, which isquite similar to the fastener A, and has a wire-supporting portion bidentical to the portion b of the fastener A. The attaching portion a ofthe fastener A is formed by bending a metal wire of rod and interlockingthe portions of the rod at 9a to-form a generally rectangular loop witha length slightly greater than twice its width, which loop is bentreversely back upon itself to form two, superposed, post-receiving 10aand two, laterally aligned, key-receiving channels 11a. It will beapparent that the fastener A functions in the same way as the fastener Aand may employ the key K of Fig. 4. However, as shown in Fig. 7, thefastener A is securely mounted on the vertical portion of the post P bymeans of an L-shaped key K made from a metal rod of circular crosssection having a diameter of 0.1 to 0.3 inch and a length of 2 to 8inches.

The key K has a straight handle portion a, a curved edge portion 26a,and a straight locking portion 27a of oblong cross section having a flatsurface 28a. The portion 27a is of exactly the same size as the portion27 described above and functions in the same manner. Since the key K isseparate from the insulated fastener A and may he slid through thechannels 11a while said 6 fastener is held in place against a post, itis very easy to position the fastener on the post so that said post isWithin the channels 10a.

Figure 10 shows another modified form of insulated fastener A having adifferent type of attaching portion a? and a wire-supporting portion b,which is identical to the portion 12 of the fasteners A and A. Theportion A has a joint at 9b similar to the joints 9 and 9a de scribedabove and is formed to provide a loop which is bent back upon itself toform superposed post-receiving channels 10b and laterally alignedkey-receiving channels 11b. It will be apparent that the fastener A isequivalent to the fasteners A and A and cooperate with the key K or K inthe same manner.

Figures 1 and 7 show how the electric wire w is mounted within the loop4 of the insulated fasteners. The helical loop facilitates mounting ofthe wire w since the straight portions 5 and 7 of the loop are spacedapart axially a distance of almost of an inch and greater than thediameter of the wire w to permit dropping of the Wire w between theportions 5 and 7 when the fastener is turned so that the axis of theloop 4 is perpendicular to the wire w and the wire forming said loop issubstantially in a plane parallel to the wire w. When the fastener isturned so that the axis of the loop is parallel to said wire and thefastener is rigidly attached to the post by the locking key, the wirecannot come out of the loop 4. The fastener of the present invention,therefore, provides an ideal support for the electric wire w, theplastic 8 providing ideal insulation due to its self-cleaning actionwhen subjected to water and its smooth outer surface which tends to headthe drops of water so that an electrically conductive film cannot beformed.

Figures 11 to 13 illustrate another modified form of the inventionparticularly well suited for conventional steel posts now being usedextensively in permanent fencing to support barbed wire. These figuresshow a conventional steel post P of Y-shaped cross section with athickness of around 0.1 to 0.2 inch having a web 30 and inclined flanges31 on opposite sides of said web, the horizontal width of the post beinggreater than one inch. The web is provided with a serrated edgeproviding a series of regularly spaced projections 32 and a series ofshallow wire-receiving notches 33. Conventional barbed wires w,consisting of two wires twisted together to hold a series of barbs 36,may be mounted on the posts P to form a fence, for example as shown inFig. 13 wherein the posts P are spaced several feet apart and areanchored in a vertical position in the ground indicated at g. Theprojections 32 are located at the same place on each of the posts P sothat the wires w may be mounted easily on the posts in a horizontalposition parallel to the ground. It is conventional practice to connectthe barbed wire to the post by means of short connecting wires 34 with alength in the neighborhood of 4 to 6 inche and a diameter in theneighborhood of 0.1 inch. Each wire 34 is placed in a notch 33 and isbent around the post P, the opposite end portions 35 of said wire beingbent reversely around the barbed wire w and back upon itself so as tohold the barbed wire tightly against the flanges 31 of the post. Barbedwire fences made in this way are used extensively.

The present invention provides an inexpensive way to use theconventional ll-shaped posts P with the conventional connecting wires 34to make an electric fence. Figures ll to 14 show a simple inexpensiveinsulated fastener A which may be connected readily to the post P by ashort connecting wire 34 to provide a support for a double barbed wireor a single, electrically conductive wire w of copper or other suitablemetal. The fastener A is made from a single piece of steel wire or rod,preferably of circularcross section, having a diameter of about 0.1 to0.2 inch and a length of about 6 inches to one foot, which wire is bentto provide an attaching portion a and a wire-receiving portion bcorresponding to the portions a and b of the first-described fastener A.The portion 11 is bent to provide a helical loop 40, similar to the loop4 described above, which is coinpletely covered by a tube or sleeve 41of suitable insulating material, substantially the same as the sleeve 3described above.

At the end of the loop 46 is a sharply curved portion 42 that connectsthe portions a and b The attaching portion a is bent to provide astraight inclined portion 43, a vertically extending semicircularportion 4 5, a straight horizontal portion 45 having a length of around1 to 2 inches and slightly greater than the horizontal distance betweenthe vertical end edges of the flanges 31, a sharply curved portion 46,and a short straight vertical portion 47 extending away from the portion42 as is apparent from Figs. 11 and 14-,which are drawn substantially toscale.

It will be apparent from Figs. ll and 12 how the fastener A is mountedon the post P. The straight hori- 'zontal portion 45 of the fastener isheld in a horizontal position against the edges of the flanges 3i, andthe end portions 35 of the short connecting wire 34 are bent around theportions l3 and 45 of the fastener at opposite sides of the post to holdthe fastener securely in position. The length of the portion 43 ispreferably about half that of the portion 45 so that the curved portion42 is located substantially in the vertical plane of the web Ml. Thestraight portion of the loop 40 adjacent the attaching portion may bedownwardly inclined as indicated in Fig. l2 or may be extendedhorizontally substantially perpendicular to the post P, for example likethe loop 52 shown in Fig. 15. t will be apparent that the loop may bearranged in many different ways without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Figure 14 shows how the fastener A may be mounted on a wooden post. Asshown in that figure the fastener is rigidly mounted on wooden post P ofgenerally circular cross section by means of a conventional U-shapedmetal staple 4-9 having two sharp parallel leg portions above and belowthe straight portion it) of the fastener which are pounded into the woodof the post. One staple 49 at the center of the straight portion 55 issufficient to provide a rigid connection since the vertical portion 47and the portion 43 press against the post to prevent twisting of thefastener in any direction. The fastener, therefore, provides anexcellent support for the electric wire w when said wire is mountedwithin the loop 41) as shown in Fig. 14. However, it will be understoodthat two or more staples 49 could be used if desired.

Figure 15 shows another modified form of insulated fastener A which isalso suitable for conventional wooden posts such as the post P Thisfastener is made from a single piece of steel Wire or rod with adiameter of preferably about 0.1 to 0.4 inch, having a length of about 6inch-es to one foot. The Wire is threaded at one end to provide anattaching portion a and is bent at the other end to provide awire-receiving portion which is covered with insulating material. Asshown in Fig. 15, the fastener A is P-shaped and consists of a straighthorizontal portion 541 with tapered threads 51 suitable for screwinginto wood and a helical loop portion 52 covered with a tube or sleeve 55of suitable insulating material, such as used in the insulating sleeves8 and ll described above, the loop 52 including a semicircular portion53 and a straight vertical portion 54. The vertical portion 54- isspaced from the horizontal portion d so as to provide a space betweenthe adjacent outer surfaces of the sleeve 52 slightly greater than thediameter of the wire w, or the wire w, so that the wire may easily bedropped within the loop 4d. The fastener A may be made at very low costsince it is an easy inatter to roll the threads 51 and to form a singleloop at).

I It will be apparent that the metal wires or rods forming the fastenersof the present invention may have different cross sections although itis preferable that the cross section be circular. It will also beapparent that the metal wire used to form the keys K and K may have anoblong cross section so that the key may be formed merely by bendingwithout the necessity for any grinding or milling operation to changethe cross section of the portion 27. All of the metal parts used in thefastener of the present invention may be made of stainlesssteel or othercorrosion resistant metal. However, it is preferable to employ aninexpensive galvanized steel wire. A carbon steel wire is veryinexpensive and provides excellent results. The key K or K is madepreferably of a steel with substantial hardness, for example harder thanthe steel forming the fastener A or the post P. The key, for example,may be made of cold-rolled steel. Where galvanized wire is used, it ispreferable to form the key from a wire of oblong cross section so as tominimize rusting ofthe key.

It will be understood that the foregoing description is by way ofillustration rather than limitation and that, in accordance with theprovisions of the patent statutes, variations and modifications of thespecific devices disclosed herein may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In an electric fence having at least one vertical post and anelectrically conductive wire, the improvement which comprises aremovable insulated Wire support comprising a single piece of untwiste-dwire with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.2 inch and a length of one-half to onefoot having a rigid attaching portion with means including one end ofsaid single wire for connecting the wire support to the post and havinga wire-retaining portion for supporting the wire, the wire-retainingportion having a bend forming a single helical loop at the other end ofthe Wire for surrounding and supporting the electrically conductive wirein a horizontal position generally perpendicular to said bend and havinga smooth impervious sleeve of high molecular weight thermoplasticpolymeric insulating material bonded to and covering the wire formingsaid loop, said sleeve having a radial thickness of 0.02 to 0.07 inchand having water-repelling means comprising a smooth hygrophobicexternal surface for causing any water contacting the sleeve to bead soas to prevent formation of an electrically conductive Water film,portions of the loop being axially spaced and providing an opening tofacilitate removal of the electrically conductive wire from Within theloop when'the wire is in a plane generally parallel to the wire formingthe loop, and short wire means separate from said Wire support in theform of a U-shaped piece of Wire for rigidly holding said wire supportto said post.

2. An electric fence as defined in claim 1 wherein the attaching portionof each wire support has a generally horizontal wire portion ofsubstantial length for engaging the vertical face of the post and ashort sharply curved wire portion at the end of the wire forming saidattaching portion.

3. An electric fence as defined in claim 1 wherein the post is a rigidsteel post having a thickness not in excess of about one-quarter of aninch and a horizontal Width of at least about one inch, said short Wiremeans comprising a single piece of wire on the post having its oppositeend portions extending around the wire forming the attaching portion ofthe Wire support near the opposite sides of the post and having itsintermediate portion extending generally horizontally on the side of thepost opposite said attaching portion.

4. An electric fence as defined in claim 1 wherein each post is a solidbar and the attaching portion of each wire support comprises a loophaving a length at least about twice the diameter of the bar and a widthslightly greater than said diameter which has a bend extending back uponitself to form two vertically spaced superposed channels which receivethe post and two laterally aligned key-receiving channels, and wherein ametal rod has a bend to provide a key having a generally horizontalportion of oblong cross section that extends through said laterallyaligned channels andengages said post and the wire connecting theopposite side portions of said superposed channels.

5. A fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said insulating material isa polymer of vinyl chloride.

6. An insulated fastener and wire support for electric fences comprisinga single piece of wire having one end portion with a bend that providesa rigid wire-receiving loop and its remaining portion with a bend thatprovides an attaching means including a loop having a length at leastabout twice its Width which has a bend extending back upon itself toform two rigid vertically spaced superposed post-receiving channelsopening in the same direction and two horizontally spaced laterallyaligned keyreceiving channels opening in the same direction which isopposite said first mentioned direction, and means for insulating saidWire-receiving loop comprising a sleeve of insulating material coveringthe portion of the wire forming said loop.

7. A fastener as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said channels hassubstantially the same depth which is greater than its Width.

8. A fastener as defined in claim 7 wherein the bottom portion of eachkey-receiving channel is generally semicircular and the internal widthof each said channel is substantially less than the internal width ofeach postreceiving channel, the depth of each post-receiving channelbeing greater than its internal width by an amount less than theinternal width of each key-receiving channel and not less than one-halfsaid last-mentioned width.

9. A fastener as defined in claim 6 wherein said insulating material isa high molecular weight linear polymeric material.

10. A fastener as defined in claim 9 wherein said material is a flexiblethermoplastic material that is bonded to the wire.

11. A fastener and wire support for electric fences comprising a singlepiece of wire with a diameter of about 0.1 to 0.2 inch and a length ofabout one-half to one foot having a bend that provides an attachingportion near one end of the wire and a Wire-retaining portion near theother end of the wire, said attaching portion having a substantiallystraight post-engaging portion with a length of about 1 to 2 inchesterminating at one end at a portion with a sharp bend near the end ofthe wire and terminating at the opposite end at a U-shaped portionjoining the attaching portion and the integral wireretaining portion,and said wire-retaining portion having a bend that provides a helicalelectric-wire-receiving loop of at least one turn having an axisgenerally parallel to and spaced from said generally straight portion,and a sleeve of flexible high molecular weight polymeric insulatingmaterial covering the wire forming said helical loop and having a smoothhygrophobic external surface that causes any water contacting the sleeveto head so as to prevent the formation of an electrically conductivewater film.

12. Means for attaching an electrically conductive wire to a rigidupright bar of substantially circular cross section having a diameter ofabout 0.3 to 0.6 inch comprising a single piece of metal Wire ofgenerally circular cross section having a diameter of about 0.1 to 0.2inch and a length of about one-half to one foot, and a key in the formof a metal rod of generally circular cross section having a diameter ofabout 0.1 to 0.3 inch and Cir a length of about 2 to 8 inches, one endof the rod forming said key and having an L-shaped bend with a straightportion of the key being reduced in thickness and flat so that it has anoblong cross section, said straight portion having a length of at leastabout onehalf an inch, one portion of said metal wire having a helicalloop that is covered with a tube of insulating material and theremainder of said metal wire having a bend that provides two superposedchannels with a width only slightly greater than the diameter of saidpost and a depth that is greater than said width by an amount greaterthan the minimum and less than the maximum cross sectional dimension ofthe straight portion of said key which channels are spaced apartvertically a distance only slightly greater than said maximum crosssectional dimension and to provide two laterally aligned U-shapedchannels of a size to receive said straight portion of said key, saidmetal wire, when locked by the k y in position on the post, extendingfrom said helical loop on the side of the post opposite said key aroundsaid straight portion of said key in a vertical plane at one side of thepost to form one of said laterally aligned channels, extending from thekey in a semi-circular path in a horizontal plane around the side of thepost opposite said straight portion of the key to form one of saidsuperposed channels, extending in a vertical plane at the side of thepost opposite said first-mentioned vertical plane around the straightportion of said key and back toward said helical loop, and having asharp bend at its end to interlock with itself on the side of the postopposite said key, whereby the rigid attaching portion formed by saidmetal wire may readily be rigidly locked to and released from said postby rotating said straight portion about its axis.

13. In an electric fence having at least one vertical post, an insulatedfastener and wire support comprising a single untwisted piece of wirewith a length of onehalf to one foot and a diameter of 0.1 to 0.2 inchhaving an attaching portion with bends therein providing two alignedsuperposed post-receiving channels of a size to receive a cylinder witha diameter of 0.3 to 0.6 inch and two aligned key-receiving channels ofsmaller size and having a wire-retaining portion with a bend providing asingle wire-receiving loopwvith a diameter of 0.5 to 1.5 inches at oneend of the said single wire, the other end of said single wire beinglocated in said attaching portion, and a sleeve of imperviousthermoplastic polymeric insulating material bonded to and covering thewire forming said loop, said sleeve having a radial thickness of 0.02 to0.07 inch and having a water-repelling means comprising a smoothhygrophobic external surface for causing any water contacting the sleeveto head so as to prevent formation of an electrically conductive waterfilm, and a second piece of wire with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.3 inchproviding a key having a non-circular portion fitting in saidkey-receiving channel.

14. An insulated fastener as defined in claim 13 wherein the sleeve is apolymer of vinyl chloride formed by dipping the loop in said polymer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,429,029 Newbern Oct. 14, 1947 2,626,304 Telecky et al. Jan. 20, 19532,677,529 Eide et al. May 4, 1954 2,791,625 Swanson May 7, 1957

